Archaeologists have uncovered the earliest evidence of the presence of humans in Scotland with an assemblage of over 5,000 flint artefacts which were recovered in 2005-2009 by Biggar Archaeology Group in fields at Howburn, South Lanarkshire. Subsequent studies have dated their use to 14,000 years ago.

Prior to the find, the oldest evidence of human occupation in Scotland could be dated to around 13,000 years ago at a now-destroyed cave site in Argyll, northwest Scotland.

Dating to the very earliest part of the late-glacial period, Howburn is likely to represent the first settlers in Scotland. The flint tools are strikingly close in design to similar finds in northern Germany and southern Denmark from the same period, a link which has helped experts to date them...

The hunters who left behind the flint remains at Howburn came into Scotland in pursuit of game, probably herds of wild horses and reindeer, at a time when the climate improved following the previous severe glacial conditions. Glacial conditions returned once more around 13,000 years ago and Scotland was again depopulated, probably for another 1000 years, after which new groups with different types of flint tools make their appearance.

The nature of the physical connections made between the peoples in Scotland, Germany and southern Denmark is not yet understood. However the similarity in the design of the tools from the two regions offers tantalising glimpses of connections across what would have been dry land, now drowned by the North Sea.

Several years back we bought a piece of property along an escarpment in southern Texas. It is literally covered with thousands of chert nodules. They generally range in size from softballs to basketballs and larger. Chert is a generic rock of which flint is a specific grey colored variant. Our chert ranges in color from rust to flint.

When we first saw these rocks, we couldn't understand why most all of them were fractured. Sometimes the fractured pieces were together, though most times we would only find part of a nodule. The weather here is such that it very rarely freezes. Even when it does, chert is not porous enough to entrain water which can freeze and then cause fractures. Many of these rock chips also contained multiple fracture sites, not just a single break. We also found numerous pieces such as the ones in the photograph you linked, as well as a few arrowheads and identifiable tools such as the "Guadalupe biface".

We also found that most other parcels in the region had no chert on them. Our conclusion: We happen to own a quarry site where the natives of thousands of years ago mined and fabricated their flint tools!

I have found the same thing around here with obsidian. An area with nodules will sometimes have tons of flakes and chips but almost no nodules. The injuns would rough out their tools and take them instead of packing the whole nodule around.

Definitely sounds like it, pretty neat as well. The manufacturing techniques of the stone age weren’t going to make a perfect tool each time, and since it’s stone, those factory seconds are going to be around for a long time. :’)

The glaciation came and went, and came back, and went again, etc, but that probably means the deposits are both deep and moved around. Plus, “Doggerland” has produced human fossils as well as stone tools (now the floor of the North Sea), and when sealevel was lower, people lived down there.

I remember the pix of that castle from a long-ago Nat Geog. The McLeods have some kind of medieval battle banner that they’ve been invincible when they’ve carried it into battle. Gotta be a little worn by now. :’)

I watched a show on Science Channel or H2 or NatGeo...where they were looking for and finding remains of communities in what is now the English Channel. One guy was obviously a boat builder and the pieces of wood found there were dated to, Im going to say,b 12000-14000BP.

cool stuff.

23
posted on 04/12/2014 12:40:22 PM PDT
by Vaquero
(Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)

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